India’s first car was not The Hindustan Ambassador, it was…, based on…, manufactured in…
GH News June 17, 2025 01:06 PM
Indian automobile industry has evolved over the years. While many foreign-make automobile brands want to make India as their market Indian brands like Tata and Maruti are already established players. But do you know which is the first Indian car? No it is not Ambassador. Hindustan Ambassador was the first car to be commercially manufactured in India and was based on the Morris Oxford Series III. But it was not the first car in India. The first car was Aravind Model 3 whose manufacturing was done in Kochi Kerala. The design of the car makes it stand out with extremely bold shoulder line. The front design seems to have been influenced by the American sedans of the 1960s with brass in plenty. The hood and boot are both massive. Interestingly the Model 3s design had a good focus on aerodynamics for its time. The rear gets an integrated bumper. The tail lamps seem to have been replaced with different units. The interior had a classy look with speedometers top panel with design inspiration from the Fords of 1950s. There is even a small glove box offered along with handcrafted panels and trims. Back in its day the Aravind Model 3 came with a record player with a 3 vinyl changer. The changer however seems to be missing now. Under its hood the original Aravind Model 3 had a heavily modified Fiat-sourced 1100cc engine. It was reengineered with a different carburettor air cleaner and some other components for improved useability and performance. Aaravind Model 3 was the brainchild of Kunnath Ayyath Balakrishna Menon (also known as K.A.B. Menon) a self-taught mechanic and entrepreneur from Kerala. His vision was to create a vehicle that was stylish comfortable and affordable to the masses. He in fact wished to price the Model 3 at Rs 5000 had it made it to production. He knew that such a pricing would make it appeal to the middle class. The project however got stuck in red tape. Menon was denied the industrial license which was required to set up factories and start production.
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